Big Horn County High Point Trip Report

State Line Hill on the Crow Reservation (9,257 ft)

Date: July 21, 2002
Author: Dave Covill
Though no one in our group had the topo for this county, it was easy to find. We proceeded to the northern
end of the Big Horns, crossing over to Burgess Junction on WY 14, then back west on WY 14A to near
Medicine Wheel NHS, a cool place where the indigenous people had made a huge wheel of stones on a hill,
and to this day it is a spiritual site. Here the mountains are much less rugged than a mere 10 - 20 miles to
the south by Cloud Peak. A road follows the crest all the way to MT, affording incredible views in all
directions as you drive along. We took FR 11 north for approximately 18 miles to the MT state line,
and Kevin blew out a tire on his truck. We were already down to 2 vehicles, having left a truck at Burgess
Junction and another at the paved 14A for gas purposes. We piled into a pickup, and proceeded the last 2
miles to the state line. Here a sign notes that you are entering the Crow Indian Reservation, although it does
not tell you not to enter through the open gate.
We chose to walk due west up the 1 mile and 300 feet or so of the HP hill, straight west on the state line
from FR 11. This took about a half hour, and we found the cohp area to be as described by the Brekhus's
and Covill's in prior visits. It is an open area, surrounded by trees, on the crest of the Big Horns as the
mountains become less austere and more rounded, gentle, and wooded. The area is very flat, but we agreed
with a small cairn at the fence line placed previously. There were many cattle on the WY side, nothing to be
seen to the north. We returned to Kevin's' truck, swapped the spare, and retreated to Burgess Junction for
red meat.